W Philadelphia

"There’s always a point at the end of a great dinner where you want to do something else, but nothing necessarily too loud (or wild). Not a nightclub, or even a chatty dive bar — something chill, but not boring. Meet Caletta, the ultra smooth piano bar that’s wisely adjacent to the equally-impressive new restaurant Bastia at Hotel Anna & Bel, serving as either the beginning of a fine meal or a grand finale to one. This emerging Fishtown hotspot follows the coastal culinary vibes of Chef-Partner Tyler Akin’s Bastia in its eclectic snack menu (grilled fresh sardines, salmon spiedini, and polpette) and the fruity, bold, and spirited cocktail flare (aperitifs, ranch waters, appletinis, spritz) of their beverage program director Benjamin Kirk. Everything on Caletta’s menu has a reasonable rhyme and refreshing reason to it — from the Italian-tiki-flavor-energy of their Saturn Descent cocktail to their Hamachi crudo with pine nuts, confit fennel and dill. I found Caletta to be a seasonal escape that served as both an ideal nightcap and a sophisticated speakeasy." - Ernest Owens

"The W’s Wet Deck Bar is probably the rooftop bar you want to see-and-be-seen on in Philly. Not only is it high up, but it straddles the fun and casual (yet pricey) nicely. On their rooftop, cabanas line the pool and a bunch of people sip on margaritas under the big umbrellas. They have a long bar inside that’s still open on that rare rainy summer day, but when the sun is shining, there’s no better place to split a caesar salad, chicken wrap, and cocktails with your friends.   " - candis mclean, alison kessler

"This isn’t a typical Tiki cocktail. Made with Bacardi 8, pineapple, super kumquat, simple syrup, espresso oil, and orange bitters, this is a fruity, energized, tropical sensation." - Ernest Owens

"With summer on the verge, the W Philadelphia in Center City is gearing up with a revamped cocktail menu with a new face at the helm. 'Drinks are equal to food,' says Isai Xolalpa, W Philadelphia’s new beverage director. Xolalpa, 35, who was has lived in Philly for roughly 70 days, was the previous beverage director at the W Aspen in Colorado. He comes to the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection during a seasonal transition that inspired him to 'reset everything on the beverage menu completely.' 'All 13 drinks on the menu are new,' Xolalpa says. 'When I came to the W Philly, I wanted to give people something that smells, tastes, and feels like summer. So I reimagined what we could do here for the season.' The 13 new cocktails are broken up into three categories: Eight of them are signature, three of them are classics (margaritas, spritz, and ranch water), and two are zero proof (such as their I’ll Drive that’s made with non-alcoholic gin, raspberry syrup, Fever Tree tonic and the W Faloma made with aloe vera, super kumquat, super grapefruit, simple syrup, soda water). With these summer cocktails being served at the W Philadelphia’s popular WET Deck pool rooftop, Xolalpa says the vision for these cocktails is to 'get away, but not drunk.' 'These cocktails are meant for you to savor and enjoy, not get hammered,' Xolalpa says about the low ABV (alcohol by volume) in these beverages." - Ernest Owens

"W Philadelphia is where Isai Xolalpa Blake is the director of bars and lounges, known for his preference for in-flight Tequila Sunrise and Ranch Water cocktails." - Kate Dingwall